Ordinariate fully implementing steps to support Charter for Protection of Children and Young People

Ordinariate fully implementing steps to support theCharter for Protection of Children and Young People

HOUSTON — The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter was recently erroneously listed as non-compliant with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’
Charter for Protection of Children and Young People. The Ordinariate did not participate in the 2015 audit due to its entirely new ecclesiastical structure in the United States. The Ordinariate will participate in the data collection for a 2016 audit and an on-site audit in 2017, as originally envisioned and agreed upon with Stonebridge Business Partners, the firm which conducts the audit process.

The USCCB and the National Review Board amended their annual report on the
Charter on June 2 to reflect this clarification.

The scheduling of the Ordinariate’s first on-site audit in 2017 was determined in the fall of 2015, in conjunction with the USCCB’s Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection and Stonebridge Business Partners.

The Ordinariate’s official on-site audit was scheduled for 2017 to allow the Ordinariate, as a relatively new canonical structure equivalent to a diocese, to establish the necessary procedures to collect the data to evaluate its implementation of the
Charter across its vast geographic territory.

The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter has already taken essential steps to implement the
Charter for the Protection of Young People:

As of May 31, 100 percent of the Ordinariate’s clergy have completed safe environment training.

A Safe Environment Assistant was appointed for the Ordinariate in November 2015 and a Victim Assistance Coordinator was named in April 2015.

The first Parent-Child safe environment training was hosted by the Ordinariate in May 2016.

A workshop on the Charter and safe environment practices is scheduled to be part of the annual clergy assembly in October 2016.

“The Ordinariate is deeply committed to the
Charter and to protecting all the young people entrusted to our care,” said Jenny Faber, spokesperson for the Ordinariate. “We will continue to be vigilant in our actions to fully support the
Charter, the audit, and the National Review Board. In communion with the Catholic Church, we will make every effort to support the healing of victims and survivors of abuse, the prevention of future abuse, and the safety of our children.”

The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter is a structure equivalent to a diocese for Roman Catholics who were nurtured in the Anglican tradition. Based in Houston, Texas, the Ordinariate has more than 40 Roman Catholic parishes and communities across the United States and Canada and is served by more than 70 ordained Roman Catholic priests and deacons.